Massively Multiplexed Submicron Particle Patterning in Acoustically Driven Oscillating Nanocavities

Abstract

high-throughput particle manipulation for preparation, enrichment, and quality control. For example, the size distribution of synthesized nanoparticle catalysts determines their catalysis efficiency. [7,8] In biomedical applications, exosomes, which are submicron extracellular vesicles [9][10][11] containing DNA, microRNAs, and proteins, are a potential source of diagnostic biomarkers. [12][13][14][15] Suitable nanoparticle manipulation tools would enable sizebased sorting/filtering, or manipulation toward downstream activities such as multiplexed diagnostics, nanoelectronic/ robotic constructions, [16,17] and nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. [18] Conventional particle separation techniques [19] are based on differential density and size, e.g., ultracentrifugation, [20] ultrafiltration, [21] and size exclusion chromatography. [22] Although impressive progress has been made in the last decade, many nanoparticle manipulation tools suffer from high cost, low throughput, and specimen damage. [23][24][25] Scalable nano-and submicron particle patterning has thus traditionally relied on self-assembly methods [26] or oligomer templating [27] however, these are largely unable to produce deterministic singlenanoparticle positioning, they are irreversible, and they require specific reagents or lengthy processing. [28][29][30] Moreover, drug delivery systems which incorporate efficient nanoparticle concentration are creating new avenues for cancer treatment. [31,32] There is, therefore, a pressing need to develop a fast, precise, and scalable method for nano-and submicron scale manipulation.Microfluidic devices have emerged as a viable platform for particle manipulation using magnetic, [33] optoelectronic, [34] plasmonic, [35] electrokinetic, [36] and hydrodynamic [37] forces. Applying these principles at the nanoscale instead of the microscale, however, can result in far smaller force magnitudes, poor separation efficiency, and channel clogging. [38] Furthermore, most of these manipulation methods are constrained by their dependence on particle polarizability, the need for low conductivity medium (which is often not biocompatible), and heating of the surrounding fluid. Optical tweezers [39,40] provide the highest degree of spatial resolution but they are usually applied in static fluids, owing to the relatively small forces that can be generated, [41] and only small numbers of nanoparticles can be manipulated at any one time (those within the Nanoacoustic fields are a promising method for particle actuation at the nanoscale, though THz frequencies are typically required to create nanoscale wavelengths. In this work, the generation of robust nanoscale force gradients is demonstrated using MHz driving frequencies via acoustic-structure interactions. A structured elastic layer at the interface between a microfluidic channel and a traveling surface acoustic wave (SAW) device results in submicron acoustic traps, each of which can trap individual submicron particles. The acoustically driven deformation of nanocavities gi...

The role of channel height and actuation method on particle manipulation in surface acoustic wave (SAW)-driven microfluidic devices

“…The small dimensions characteristic of microfluidic devices has enabled selective manipulation of similarly small objects such as cells and microparticles (Lee et al 2017;Di Carlo 2009;Tayebi et al 2020), including for tissue engineering (Choi et al 2007; Andersson and van den Berg 2004; Khademhosseini et al 2006;Novak et al 2020;Bhatia and Ingber 2014), cell-cell interaction and signalling studies (Regehr et al 2009;Faley et al 2008;Zervantonakis et al 2011), sample concentration and sorting (Ding et al 2012;Gascoyne and Vykoukal 2002;Ahmed et al 2018). This accurate and versatile manipulation of biological matter is essential for many lab-on-a-chip platforms, especially those designed for diagnostic purposes.…”

“…The relative strengths of these forces depends on the channel design, frequency of operation, fluid and particle properties, and the nature of the sound field (Muller et al 2012;Settnes and Bruus 2012). In these systems, acoustic streaming dictates the minimum collectable particle size, with it having a far greater effect on disrupting the trajectories of particles towards a stable end location than Brownian motion (Tayebi et al 2020).…”

Measurement of the Thermal Effect of Standing Surface Acoustic Waves in Microchannel by Fluoresence Intensity

“…Acoustofluidics, which integrates acoustic waves with microfluidics to manipulate particles and fluids in microscale fluid, has been widely used in material engineering [ 1 , 2 , 3 ] and biotechnology [ 4 , 5 ], due to the advantages of noncontact, better biocompatibility, and compactness [ 6 ]. Surface acoustic waves (SAWs), which are generated and propagated on the surface, have attracted attention for the following reasons.…”

Optical Trapping of Sub−Micrometer Particles with Fiber Tapers Fabricated by Fiber Pulling Assisted Chemical Etching

“…Especially for sub−micrometer particles, optical trapping opens up avenues for quantum science [2][3][4][5] in studying quantum phenomena [6] and transduction applications [7]. Generally, trapping and manipulation of sub−micrometer particles have been demonstrated by using optical dipoles or gradient forces, traveling surface acoustic waves [8], dielectrophoretic forces [9], surface plasmonics [10], Joule heating effects [11], and optical standing waves [12]. Using the optical gradient forces, conventional optical tweezers (OT) relying on highly focused laser beams are the most commonly used approach to trap and manipulate sub−micrometer particles in various studies, such as the physical [13][14][15] and biomechanical [16,17] research.…”